Monet and the Science of Light: I chose Monet, the great Impressionist painter, to tie in with the science unit on light and to demonstrate the changes in color with changing light.

As an art appreciation teacher in the third grade, I try to link my lessons to academic topics that students are currently studying. I chose Monet, the great Impressionist painter, to tie in with the four-to-six week science unit on light. The objectives of this lesson were to review some of the equipment Impressionists used to study light, introduce Monet as an artist who was fascinated with light and color, demonstrate the changes in color with changing light, and learn about mixing and layering to illustrate light and shadow.

The Study of Light

The discussion portion of the lesson was very interactive. Students thought Monet might have used prisms, lenses, or mirrors to study light, as they had done in their science activities. Monet, however, used only his eyes to paint his impressions of light and color. But what is an impression?

Monet and Impressionism 

Using modeling clay, I showed students a physical impression of my hand. We also defined an impression as what you most remember about something. To round out the discussion of Impressionism, I noted some other innovations with this art movement. Impressionist artists used a dabbing brushstroke that gave their paintings texture, and they worked outdoors rather than in studios.

Project Materials

* Textured white paper

* Crayons

* Tempera paints

* Paper towels

* Water

Monet and Light

Monet painted the exact colors that he saw on his subjects. For his haystack series, he took thirty canvases into the field and worked ten to fifteen minutes on each one as the sun changed the colors and shadows of his surroundings. As the sun moves, what happens to the colors we see? I asked students to think about the color of the sky. It's blue during the day, it's red at sunset, and it's even black at night. Color changes as the sun's position changes, and we only see color when there is light to reflect off of it.

Light, Shadow, and Color

We studied the painting Woman with a Parasol. By looking at the position of the shadows, we decided the direction of the light source. Next we looked at the impact of the umbrella on the scene. Because of the shade of the umbrella and the light passing through it, the woman's white dress has a gray, purple, blue, and pink shadow. She is standing in a lush field with wildflowers, so we were also able to find greens and pinks reflected in the white of her skirt.

The project was kept simple to focus on light and shadow. Each student was given a color photocopy of the painting, Woman with a Parasol, and was asked to copy it, paying attention to colors in direct light and in shadow. Using crayon, students set in the darks to suggest the figure of the woman and her umbrella. Tempera paints were then dabbed on with small bits of paper towels to create an Impressionistic look. The initial palette had only blue and yellow so that students could mix colors for the background. Later red, pink, and white were added for accents and highlights.

Follow-up

To encourage students to think about Impressionism, Monet, light, and color alter I had gone, I sent home a one-page information sheet with biographical information, a description of the project, and discussion questions. I also left a picture book, A Blue Butterfly: A Story About Claude Monet by Bijou LeTord, with the classroom teacher to be read to students the next day. The poetic language used to describe Monet and his work was a perfect summary for the Monet and the Science of Light lesson.

Additional Reading

LeTord, Bijou. A Blue Butterfly: A Story About Claude Monet. New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 1995.

WEB LINK

www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/ monet_claude.html

www.artchive.com/artchive/M/ monet/html

NATIONAL STANDARD

Students use visual structures and functions of art to communicate ideas.

Linda O'Gorman is a parent volunteer art appreciation teacher at Kings Road School in Madison, New Jersey. [e-mail]